Devices for urinal care are known, in which the urine is removed by means of a condom and discharged into a leg pouch via a hose section. Apart from the fact that the leg pouch has to be emptied periodically in a troublesome way, empyying of the leg pouch is often not manageable in a hygienically clean and safe way, so that annoyance caused by bad odor is unavoidable. Further, emptying of the leg pouch often requires additional assistance. Moreover, the known devices do not permit removal of feces due to poor flowability of the latter.
The problem of the invention is to create measures for simple and safe removal of urine and feces.
According to the invention, said problem is solved by a quiver-like bag with an inlet opening on the face side for inserting the genital organ or feces, such bag being tightly connected with a tube line which, with the end facing away from the bag, rests against the suction line of a motor-driven, self-aspirating fluid pump feeding with the pressure side into a drain pipe of a washbowl or the like. Preferably, the pressure side of the fluid pump feeds into the drain pipe of the washbowl via a T-shaped piece of pipe. The flexible pipeline may be usefully formed in this connection by a hose or the like, the latter being detachably fixed on the bag or engaging the latter by means of a disconnectable coupling element. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the hose has a disconnectable separation point disposed with a spacing from the bag and the fluid pump, such separation point being lackable and releasable by a coupling element, whereby the coupling elements are designed in the form of quick-action couplings. In this way, a closed conduit system is formed, and it is assured that urine or feces are continuously discharged, whereby transport operations for transporting collection containers or the like are dispensed with. Urine or feces are removed by suction in a clean way by means of the vacuum adjusted in the hose, whereby no unintended or undesirable discharge of urine or feces via the inlet opening to the outside will occur. Finally, the closed conduit system, furthermore, will not cause any annoyance due to bad odor, and spilling of urine or the like is impossible.
For developing the device further, provision is made that the bag or the adjacent hose section has a manually actuated ON/OFF-switch for the driving motor of the fluid pump. In this way, the device can be put into operation by the person using it at any desired time for discharging urine or feces. In addition, it is possible to equip the bag with a pulse transmitter responding to fluid or moisture, whereby the pulses of such transmitter are used for automatically switching the driving motor of the fluid pump on or off. Moreover, it is conceivable that the driving motor of the fluid pump is periodically automatically switched on or off depending on time, using a time-switch, whereby discharge of urine and feces is made possible also for disabled and helpless persons. Furthermore, it is proposed to make the driving motor of the fluid pump remotely controllable, e.g. by actuating it by infrared pulses for switching the device on and off.
For developing the device further, provision is made that the vacuum in the part of the hose on the suction side is manually or automatically changeable or controllable, so that the vacuum can be adapted to the substances such as urine or feces to be discharged.
Furthermore, provision is made that a flexible flushing conduit connected with the pressure water mains, for example a hose is freely or rigidly and substantially tightly attached to the open side of the bag in order to keep the latter, the hose and the fluid pump clean and odorless. The flushing conduit can be connected with the pressure water mains in any desired way. Preferably, the flushing conduit is particularly connectable with the pressure water pipeline leading to the washbowl or the like via a valve, for example an angle valve. So as to avoid complications caused by pressure of the water mains or failure of the fluid pump, the flushing conduit and/or the hose are equipped with a reflux stop valve. Furthermore, it is conceivable to associate a reservoir for disinfectants or fragrances with the flushing conduit, or to arrange such reservoir in said conduit, such reservoir continuously or periodically dispensing disinfectant into the flushing water, by manual control or continuously or automatically at periodic intervals.
Furthermore, provision is made that the bag has a circular insertion opening and a circuit cross section over its entire length. It is advantageous if the bag has a circular insertion opening adjoined by the remaining part of the bag in a flattened form. In this way, the bag can be secured on the leg of the user without causing pieces of garment or the like to bulge, so that using the bag remains invisible from the outside. Furthermore, it is possible to detachably secure the bag and/or the hose and/or the flushing conduit on parts of the body, for example on the leg of the user by means of at least one belt, band or the like fitted with a closing buckle. It is understood that the bag can be supported on parts of the body of the user also in other ways, for example via shoulder belts.
So as to assure safe transfer of urine or feces into the bag, the latter is fitted within the zone of its insertion opening on the inside with a sleeve-lie sealing gasket, which is rigidly or exchangeably toghtly fixed in the bag and has sealing lips all around the inner circumferential surface, such lips extending circumferentially one on top of the other with axial spacings, whereas annular sealing beads are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the gasket. The sealing lips preferably extend slanted inwardly and downwardly and, together with an O-ring secured in the bag, prevent urine or feces from running out of the bag. The bag itself can be formed by a rigid or a flexible material, for example a plastic material, rubber or the like.
It was found that it is particularly advantageous if the hose and the flushing conduit, in particular, however the latter, jointly feed with the ends facing the bag into a housing-like station, whereby the station is connectable with the bag and has a spraying device or the like connected with the flushing conduit, such device particularly being tightly attachable to or insertable in the insertion opening of the bag.
The insertion opening of the bag usefully has a sealing gasket inserted therein, whereby the clear width of such gasket can be changed for obtaining diameters of different sizes by pushing at least one additional gasket onto it.
Furthermore, removal of feces can be safely facilitated by a tubular adapter tightly fixable on or insertable in the insertion opening, with at least one hollow cylinder insertable with part of its length in the intestine of the user, and with a water tube centrally arranged in the adapter and fitted with a nozzle, such water tube being connectable with the pressure water mains. Centrally, the nozzle has an axial outlet and a number of outlet openings in the circumferential zone for water, the latter outlets being slanted outwardly against the water feed. It was found that the water exiting from the central nozzle softens and crushes the feces, whereas the water exiting from the slanted nozzles effects transport of the feces in the adapter and on into the bad. So as to prevent feces from leaking out, the adapter and/or the cylinder are/is fitted on the outside with annular sealing lips. According to a further development, the adapter, which is advantageously Exchangeably fixed on the bag especially for cleaning purposes, for example by friction grip, can be designed also in such a way that it and the bag form one piece.
With the bag, furthermore, provision is made for a bowl-shaped receiving container for removing feces, such container being attachable or insertable by plugging, and its receiving space being connected with the interior space of the adapter, whereby the latter also a water tube fitted with a nozzle and attachable to the pressure water mains.
Finally, it is conforming to the idea of the invention if, according to another modified embodiment of the device, the fluid pump is omitted, so that urine or feces are transported by action of gravity from the bag via the hose line directly into the drain tube of the washbowl. Precondition for this is that the bag or adapter is disposed or kept higher than the point of inflow on the drain pipe of the washbowl, and that urine or feces can be discharged in accordance with the design of the communicating tube.
The exemplified embodiments with the features important to the invention show how the latter can be realized. In the drawing,